If Leysen had bothered to look behind her, she might have seen Tillek following her.
For his part, Tillek didn't see Leysen as the young Prime walked on her way up the trail past the smokehouse on her way to the iron mine. He did see something that was of more interest to him. Picking up his pace, he hailed Mai just as she reached the smokehouse.
Hearing his hail, she turned to wait for him. "Tillek! What are you doing here?"
He trotted up to her. "I wondered whether you might need any help."
Mai tossed her head and laughed. "As if you or any other warrior would ever help me with a female's task."
He held up his hands and smiled at her. "I didn't say I was going to help. I just said I wondered whether you needed any." Reaching out and taking her hand, he drew her to him. "And if you didn't..." His voice trailed off as he pressed his lips against hers, his other hand seeking out her breasts.
Before they could get any further, a series of sharp popping sounds came from the interior of the smokehouse. She broke off the kiss and turned her head. "Something's wrong." Before he could stop her, she slipped out of his embrace and headed for the door.
He started after her, and then stopped. He wouldn't know what was right and what was wrong inside. If he was careless, he might accidentally make things worse for Mai. He stopped just outside the door to wait.
As soon as she got inside, Mai knew that something was indeed wrong. It was much too hot, the fire was only intended to smoke the meat to preserve it. There was also too much smoke, making it difficult to see.
The smoke also made it difficult to breathe. Holding her hand over her mouth and nose, she made her way toward the fire.
More popping sounds came from the direction of the fire, louder than before. An ominous creak came from the roof above. She stopped, then started to back toward the door.
A part of the roof collapsed in flames, barely missing her.
She turned and leaped for the door. Another ceiling beam fell. She put up her arms in an effort to shield her head. The impact against her arms drove her to the ground.
Before she could get up, another beam fell on her and trapped her legs. She tried to scream as the rest of the roof came down on her, but smoke filled her lungs, reducing her scream to a series of coughs.
Tillek could hear Mai coughing, but he didn't see her come out of the smokehouse. He did see the roof start to collapse. Screaming out her name, he rushed toward the building, only to be beaten back by the smoke.
Tearing off his sleeve, he took a couple of deep breaths before pressing it over the lower half of his face. It didn't do much to reduce the smell of the smoke, but at least he could breathe a little better now. He again approached the smokehouse.
The fire was building. He could feel the heat against the exposed portion of his face. Smoke got into his eyes, making them water. Somewhere, somehow, he could hear Mai's coughing through the crackling of the flames. Alternately opening one eye at a time, he tried to move in the direction of the coughs.
Burning planks crackled and popped at his feet. One gave way just as he put his foot on it. He dropped to a knee. The heat immediately made him spring back up to his feet.
The movement unbalanced him again. He flailed wildly with his arms trying to maintain his balance on the unsteady footing, the strip of cloth falling from his face. He barely managed to avoid falling on his back, but now he was surrounded by the smoke and fire.
It felt as if the fire was in his lungs. There was so much smoke in his eyes that he couldn't see a thing. Retreating to the relative coolness, he fell to his knees on the ground, coughing and wiping his eyes.
The old smithy had proven to be too small. Production was in full swing at the new expanded smithy, where Chaddik and the others whom Leysen had trained were now supervising other trainees in the finer points of steelmaking.
That didn't mean that the original portion of the old smithy had been abandoned when the expansions had been made. Leysen now used it as sort of a private lab --- a private playground --- where she worked on trying to refine the methods, trying to temper the steel to make it even harder. She knew that with the primitive resources available on Talis, she wasn't going to be able to produce Vendorian steel, a substance hard enough to resist even the strength of an Arion Prime.
It also gave her a place where she could work in private, producing the metal parts for Velder's airplane. It was also where she had developed her latest innovation, the crossbow.
The privacy also allowed her to do something else. There was one additional technique for working steel, one that she could not teach to a Talisi smith, no matter how skillful he might be in the other aspects of working the metal.
It was a technique for heating steel, one that she had used in her craft courses back in school. It was a method unique to the Supremis.
It was an ideal way to concentrate a lot of heat into a small area, more heat than could be gotten from the forge. Just the thing needed for making the delicate parts for Velder's airplane and its engine. The parts other than her own body, of course. It was also the best way that she'd yet found for tempering the bows to get the most spring out of them.
Alone, she could strip off her outer garments. Unencumbered by clothing, she could run her hands along her breasts --- imagining that it was Velder's hands that were holding her so firmly --- and produce the energy needed to generate her heat vision.
Of course, she couldn't spend all of her time at the old smithy. She was still supervising the teaching of the art of steelmaking at the new smithy. The other techniques, not the one using her heat vision. And, like today, she sometimes went to inspect the mine from which they extracted the iron ore.
Not that she knew anything about mining. Back in school, raw iron came in the form of ingots anywhere from a couple of pounds to a couple of tons in weight. She still couldn't really distinguish the iron-bearing ore from the other rock. Fortunately for her, the Talisi knew how to find and extract the stuff; all that she had to do was to look around and nod approvingly.
Finishing her inspection of the iron mine, Leysen watched the people loading the sacks of ore onto a string of hurjas. Not a very efficient means of transport, but it was the best that was available. Even wagons or carts would be more efficient, except that these plodding beasts had proven themselves to be extremely unsuitable for hitching.
Rather than waiting for the entire string to be loaded, she headed back to the village. Having been deep inside the iron mine, Leysen hadn't heard the explosion at the smokehouse. She was not aware of anything out of the ordinary until she approached the smokehouse on her return journey.
She first detected a slight change in the scent when a change in the wind brought a whiff of it to her. However, still not as familiar with the normal food preparation as a typical Talisi female her age would be, she thought nothing of it until she came in sight of the smokehouse.
Or rather, of what remained of the smokehouse. One wall had completely collapsed, thick black smoke billowing out. And there was motion; someone was trying to get inside. She quickened her pace, breaking into a run.
She recognized him as he retreated from the flames, coughing from the smoke. Reaching out and grabbing his arms, she lifted his feet from the ground and pulled him back from the burning building. "Tillek! What happened here?"
"Mai!" he gasped out. "She's in there!" He struggled to get out of her grasp to go to Mai's aid.
Maintaining her grip, she turned her head and squinted to bring her tachyon vision into play. Sure enough, there was a person in there, her legs trapped under some fallen beams. Leysen also saw that Tillek wasn't going to get to her through the inferno. No Talisi or Beta could.
There was only one person who could. "I'll get her out," she told Tillek, pushing him aside with a little more force than was necessary, sending him sprawling onto his hands and knees. Before he could get back up to his feet, she was rushing into the flames.
Most of the roof was down, though the walls were still up for the most part.
Bending down and grabbing a stout wooden beam, Leysen ignored the flames licking at her hand as she tossed it aside. There were more beams and planks after that first one. She tossed them aside, more interested in clearing a path to Mai than in putting out the fire. Through the smell of the fire, she could also detect the stench of burning meat; she hoped that not too much of that was coming from Mai.
She blinked rapidly, alternating between normal and tachyon vision in an effort to cut through the thick smoke. Finally, she dug her way through to the fallen female.
There were burning beams lying across her shoulders and back. Mai had her arms up, partially shielding her head. Another beam lay across her legs. Leysen started to move those beams aside, trying to be careful in order not to cause Mai additional injuries. However, she knew that she couldn't take her time doing it; the heat was beginning to get to even her.
She didn't know if any of Mal's bones were broken. And this was neither the time nor the place to find out. Gently scooping up Mai's unmoving body in her arms, she turned to exit the flames.
A wooden plank cracked under her foot, shifting her balance. With her arms holding the injured female, Leysen fell to her knees. She carefully scrambled back up to her feet.
Her clothes were in hardly more than smoldering strips of cloth when she came back out, Mai hanging limply in her arms. Ignoring Tillek, who fell in beside her, she carried her burden away from the burning building.
Once in the nearest grove of trees, she dropped to her knees and gently laid Mai down on the ground and then patted at the smolders on her garments.
Tillek was beside them immediately. "Hurry. We have to get her back to Panture!"
Squinting, Leysen could see that the internal injuries were too severe. There was nothing the primitive Talisi medical science could do for her now. The meager medical kit that they'd salvaged from the lifeboat wasn't anywhere near enough to save her. Perhaps if there had been a full Arion hospital nearby... "No, there's nothing they can do for her."
Wait, there was one possible way to save Mai's life. A remote chance, but a possibility nonetheless. She had never used the method before, but she had read about it. But could she do it? And would it work on a Talisi? There was only one way to find out.
Tillek had all but ignored her words, remaining on his knees at Mai's side. "Hurry! We have to carry her back!" He started to slide his arms under Mai's body.
She stepped closer and pulled Tillek back. "No! There's something else. Something I can do, if it works on a Talisi." There was a chance of a side effect, but when compared with certain death otherwise, it was an easy choice to make.
He looked up at her. "What are you talking about, girl?"
"Make love to me now! For Mai's sake." She reached out and took hold of him with one strong hand and lifted him to his feet while her other hand began stripping off her ruined garment. As her clothes fell away from her she began divesting him of his harness.
"Girl! Leysen!" His unaccustomed use of her real name told of his agitation. "What are you doing? We have to get her back to Panture!"
She pulled him closer to her. "No, Tillek. This is the only way to save her life. You must make love to me, now!" She wished that it was Velder who was with her now, instead of the older Beta. But she realized that she had no choice, not if she wanted to save their friend's life.
Tillek tried to push himself away from Leysen, but his Beta strength was no match for that of the young female Prime. A young female Prime who wasn't wearing any gold. He began striking her with his fists, but that only seemed to hurt his hands more than it did her.
Despite his struggles, she pulled his head closer to her, burying his face in the deep valley between her breasts, her long hair falling over his head. His nostrils filled with her scent. A scent that he'd first smelled in the lifeboat --- in the boat bay aboard the Empress Jiltan'th --- when he'd found Velder in her arms.
She'd been wearing gold around her throat on that occasion. Even weakened, it had taken all of their combined strength to free Velder from her arms. Now she wasn't wearing any gold, her Prime powers fully unleashed.
He knew that she and Velder had been doing something together at night. He still had doubts as to just how much a male Beta could do to a female Prime, even weakened by gold. Without gold, she could easily kill him, without even noticing. He continued to struggle, trying to push himself away from her and striking at her body.
His struggles had no effect on her, no more than they'd had that time after she'd killed the santha.
Each breath brought him more of her scent, until her pheromones took over. Any thoughts of the injured female at his feet were driven out of his mind. His struggles ceased, his hands no longer striking her body but instead caressing her. His tongue came out of his mouth, licking the large nipple in front of his face. He was barely aware of her lifting him and sliding him in between her legs.
The next half-hour was the most exhausting experience in Tillek's life.
It was also the most incredible experience in his life. The young Prime gently and carefully encouraged him to make love to her. As she stood over Mai, her strong arms holding his body to hers, they had made slow and delicious love. The wetness of Leysen's arousal falling from her legs to fall on into Mai's open mouth.
It was several moments before he realized that he was lying on the ground next to Mai's still unmoving body. Gasping for breath and blinking his eyes clear, he looked up to see Leysen kneeling between him and Mai. She had put back on what remained of her charred garments.
"I think we can move her now." Reaching down and sliding her arms under Mai's body, Leysen picked up the older woman in her arms and rose to her feet. Tillek followed her as she moved out of the grove.
Drawn by the smoke, a crowd had gathered around the ruined smokehouse. They were busy working --- warriors and females alike --- to put out the fire and save what they could of the provisions.
Spotting Tillek and Leysen, Velder detached himself from the firefighting party and ran over to join them. "What happened?" he asked, looking at the female in Leysen's arms.
As they continued to the village, Tillek told him what had happened to Mai. He omitted some key details, and Leysen didn't bother to fill in the blanks.
Tillek stopped them just outside the village gates. "You better let me carry her the rest of the way."
"I can do it," Leysen said, taking another step forward.
Velder saw what Tillek was driving at. "You can, but you shouldn't."
Leysen finally caught on. "Okay, you take her." She carefully handed the unconscious female to Tillek.
His Arion strength allowed him to carry Mai without any difficulty. He carried her through the gate and toward the house that they shared, Velder and Leysen at his heels, Leysen trying as best she could to cover herself with what remained of her charred garments.
While Tillek settled her in his bed, Leysen went off to get some cloths and hot water.
Word had spread of the fire, and one of the healers was looking over Mai's injuries by the time that Leysen returned. "I've never seen anybody burned so bad, and yet still alive," the old female was bluntly confiding to Tillek.
The healer took out some herbs from a pouch and put them in the hot water. Then dipping one of the cloths in the water, she began to clean Mai's wounds. The sight of the charred flesh merely served to make the healer even more pessimistic.
As Leysen had surmised earlier, there was very little that the Talisi medical arts could do for Mai. Not only was she seriously burned, but she was also running a high fever. "I'll check in again after the evening meal," she told the Arions as she finished, rising to her feet and heading for the door. "I'd be very surprised if she lasts the night," she added, making no attempt to soften her prognosis.
"Just what did you do, girl?" Tillek asked Leysen after the old woman had left. "What was it we did out there?"
"I... I..." She took a step back toward the door. She looked over at Velder, and got no support from that direction. Her words came out in a rush. "I had to do something. I couldn't just let her die. But I didn't know what else to do."
"Just what did you do?" Velder asked, looking between her and Tillek.
"I didn't even know if it would work," she said, not meeting either man's eyes.
"Didn't know if what would work?"
"It... it's something that some Primes can do. At least, with some humanoid species." She deliberately left out some details, though Tillek's expression told her that he remembered some of them. "I didn't know if it would work, but I had to try it," she finished.
The two men were silent for a while. Velder was the first to break the silence. "Why didn't you try doing it for Chaddik?"
She remembered Chaddik almost losing a leg to a santha. Even now, he still walked with a limp. "I... I..." she stammered out, her face reddening slightly. "I was still a..." Even though she'd made love to both of these men, she still couldn't quite force out the word.
Tillek caught on a couple of seconds before Velder did. "I'd heard rumors about that. I always thought it was a myth." He used a phrase that meant nothing to Leysen, but Velder seemed to understand, nodding thoughtfully as he looked at her. Apparently the Betas had their own set of legends that the young Prime had never heard of. However, she was not in a mood to listen, hurrying out through the door, trying to hide her increasingly reddening face.
"You really think it's worthwhile?"
Leysen and Velder had first checked in with Tillek. He and one of the apprentice healers had spent the night at Mai's side. There was no change in the injured female's condition. In one sense that was good news, since the old healer hadn't expected Mai to survive this long.
Leysen and Velder had then taken their turn at the vigil, giving Tillek and the apprentice an opportunity to get some food and sleep. However, Tillek had returned immediately after eating, unwilling to be separated from his lover any longer than was absolutely necessary.
After that, they had spent much of the afternoon in the old smithy discussing various refinements in her design of the crossbow. The Talisi warriors had suggested several changes in the design. Among the Arions, the crossbow was a sport item, used only for target shooting, hence accuracy was the most important criteria. The Talisi were beginning to look upon it as a possible weapon, and hence wanted it as efficient and as deadly as possible.
Velder himself had suggested making most of the stock out of wood instead of iron. "Forden and the others can easily make them," he told her, "and it would mean using less iron and steel. We can make them faster that way. They would also be lighter."
"But why do we need to make so many of them?" she asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a finger. "Or lighter, for that matter? Gharrez still won't let us arm the females." She stood up and began pacing.
"We can never have too many weapons, especially if there's going to be a full-scale war with Porea." He smiled as he watched her walk back and forth. "And if we have a surplus of them, what can Gharrez do if the females somehow got their hands on some of them?"
She stopped her pacing and turned to face him. Leaning forward, she put her arms atop an anvil. "So what? Without any training, they might as well be armed with knives and pots from the kitchen."
"Hmmm. That would be a problem." He conceded the point. "Still, I think it's a worthwhile change."
"Maybe." She was having a hard time keeping her mind on the discussion. Her thoughts kept turning to Mai. It had been two days since the accident, and Mai still hadn't recovered consciousness. Tillek maintained a constant vigil at her side, only reluctantly leaving for meals.
Velder shared her concern, and not only for Tillek's sake. He genuinely liked Mai --- as did everyone in Panture --- and had briefly been her lover.
"I think we've done enough for today," he said at last. "Why don't you go check on Mai? I'll go by the kitchen and get something for Tillek to eat."
Leysen got up to her feet. "Thanks. But you go on ahead. I think I better be the one to go by the kitchen." For all that Leysen had done since arriving in Panture, getting food was still primarily a female's task. Leaning over, she kissed Velder before they both left the old smithy.
It was a simple matter to fill a couple of small baskets with enough food for the three of them. Four, if Mai had recovered consciousness.
While Leysen was gathering up the foodstuff, Velder spoke briefly with one of the females. She took him into another room and brought out a pitcher of kifra, which she poured into a waterskin.
"What's this?" Leysen asked when he rejoined her, the skin in his hand.
"Just some kifra," he replied, taking one of the baskets from her, rearranging the contents, and putting the skin in.
"You think that's wise?"
He grinned at her. "We warriors run on kifra."
Leaving the kitchen, it didn't take long to reach Tillek's room. Velder opened the door and they walked in. "How is she?"
Tillek was seated on the edge of the bed, one of Mai's hands between his. He looked up at Leysen's voice, concern clearly visible on his face --- as well as his exhaustion from his bedside vigil. "Still no change."
Leysen looked down at the figure on the bed, covered by a thin blanket. Despite what Tillek had just told her, she thought that she could detect a little improvement. Mai's face wasn't quite as pale as it had been before. It was still a far cry from her usual healthy tone, however.
Velder shifted his gaze to Tillek. He wasn't looking all that much better. "You had anything to eat today?" he asked, setting his basket down.
"Not since morning." His voice backed up his words.
"Then it's a good thing we brought this. Get some food inside you," Velder told him, as Leysen set down her basked, reached into it, and handed him a chunk of bread and some roasted meat. "Then get some rest. I'll watch Mai."
Velder reached into his basket down and pulled out the skin containing the kifra. "Kifra," he said, unstoppering it and handing it to Tillek.
"Thanks, old friend." Tillek had already downed half of the bread and meat. Lifting the skin to his mouth, he took an unsteady swallow. He followed that with a big gulp of air.
"Don't drink it all at once," Velder cautioned him.
While not a particularly potent brew, the Arions knew better than to drink too much kifra on an empty stomach. Tillek set the skin down and finished his bread and meat. He took another swig of the kifra before taking more bread and meat that Leysen held out to him.
The three of them made a meal of it. A rather quiet and subdued meal, there was very little of the talk that they usually engaged in when eating by themselves. All three of them kept glancing over at the unconscious female on the bed. And if Leysen noticed that Velder wasn't drinking any of the kifra, she didn't mention it.
Tillek returned to Mai's side while Leysen cleared the remains of the meal. She then left to return the baskets to the kitchen.
When she came back, Tillek was lying beside Mai, eyes closed, breathing softly. Velder was sitting beside them.
"What did you put in his kifra?" she asked Velder, keeping her voice low as she reached out to touch Mai's forehead. It was warm to the touch; the fever hadn't broken yet.
He stood up, took her elbow, and guided her to the far corner of the room. "Just something to make him sleep." He looked over at the sleeping duo. "He needs it more than she does."
"What about you?"
"I can take the first watch."
There was no change when Leysen returned shortly before midnight to relieve Velder; Mai was still in a coma, running a high fever. Sitting down in the vacated chair, she tried to keep her eyes open. She was reminded of their initial trek through the mountains of Talis. Then, the three Arions had taken turns on watch, guarding against who knew what. Now, they were taking turns maintaining a vigil over a severely injured Talisi female.
Tillek awoke shortly before dawn. He was a little surprised to find himself on the bed beside Mai, with Leysen watching over them. "What happened?" he asked, still a little groggy.
"Velder put something in your kifra to make you sleep." Getting up from her chair and stretching her legs, she quickly and quietly explained what they had done. She also added that Velder would be here at dawn.
"Get some rest, girl," he told her, getting off the bed only to kneel beside it and the still unconscious female atop it.
"I'm fine," she protested, before sinking back down on the chair.
There was a stir, accompanied by a soft rustle of movement.
Tarrin Krilti had never been in the senior officers' quarters before. As a mere captain, and a rather new one at that, she simply did not move around in such exalted circles. Of course, spending much of her career on isolated communication posts with only a crew of Betas to keep her company meant that she rarely heard from a general, let alone see one. She had seen a few from a distance, standing on the reviewing stand with bored expressions on his their as her academy graduating class passed in review.
At least, she hadn't seen many generals until recently. As a sector headquarters, Tiburon was practically crawling with high-ranking officers, both generals and admirals. She'd actually met the sector commander and his deputy --- albeit very briefly --- at a reception for new officers.
There certainly was more of a social life here, a formal social life as well as the casual one with which she was much more familiar. Formalities were something that had been completely lacking on Communications Relay Station XM-17B. There, it had been just her and the four Betas. And there, they certainly hadn't stood for formalities.
She suppressed a smile at the memory. She hadn't had the Betas stand for much of anything during off-duty hours. No, they spent much of it in a horizontal position.
Tonight, it would be more than mere generals and admirals. Theoretically, she was off duty. In reality, the next four hours were going to be more demanding than any double shift in the communications section could ever be. She had drawn the 'privilege' of being the junior officer to accompany her department head to the reception and banquet in honor of a visiting member of the Imperial Family.
She tried not to let her eyes rove too widely, concentrating instead on maintaining her position just behind the colonel's left shoulder as he circulated amongst the other senior officers and their aides. Many of the other aides looked just as uncomfortable as she felt.
The situation did not allow for the younger officers to mingle amongst themselves. They were tied to the orbits of their superiors, bound just as rigidly as planets to their primaries. She thought that it would be a lot more efficient to simply issue each of the senior officers another medal to pin on his uniform rather than to assign a junior officer to trail along in his wake. It would be a tremendous savings in money and manpower.
Not to mention a savings in food and drink, though Tarrin wasn't sure whether it would be a breach of protocol for her to snag a wineglass from one of the circulating Beta stewards. Not seeing any of the other junior officers availing themselves of the refreshments, she also refrained.
There was the sound of a trumpet fanfare. The buzz of conversations cut off as if a switch had been thrown. Heads turned with near parade ground precision, all eyes focused on the couple at the top of the wide sweeping staircase.
Even knowing what to expect, her breath caught in her throat. Yes, this went well beyond mere generals and admirals.
She'd never seen so much jewelry in her entire life. They glittered in the light, dazzling her eyes.
There was a ring of clear white diamonds, each nearly the size of her thumb. They surrounded a pale blue diamond about the size of her fist.
Tarrin didn't need to be a gem expert to recognize the fabled Star of R'kassa, one of the largest blue diamonds in the known universe. A slight imperfection gave the blue stone the internal white star that gave it its name.
And that was just the tiara perched atop the woman's immaculately coifed hair.
Dropping her gaze to the woman's graceful throat, Tarrin saw another string of diamonds. More diamonds adorned her wrists and ankles.
By comparison, the man at the woman's side looked practically naked despite his formal garb. Yet there were blood-red rubies on his cuffs. Another large ruby glittered at his throat. Even bigger than the Star of R'kassa, Tarrin knew that this stone was flawless.
The majordomo formed the crowd into a receiving line. The colonel handed her his wineglass, which she placed on a tray carried by a scurrying Beta steward. The band struck up the Imperial Anthem as Princess Lestan'th and her husband descended the staircase. The oldest daughter of the Emperor, Princess Lestan'th was second in line for the throne, after her brother the Crown Prince.
Tarrin dutifully took her place at the colonel's shoulder. No handshakes for her --- junior officers simply did not touch an Imperial Princess and her consort. As a mere captain, she simply stood at her station, bowing at the appropriate time. This was as close as Tarrin had ever been to any member of the Imperial Family. Or probably ever would.
After that, there was more milling around. She had to move fast to maintain her station as the colonel spoke with the other senior officers, all of whom were trying to gravitate toward the Imperial presence. Eventually, the colonel was trapped by a higher-ranking officer, a male captain her age at his shoulder.
There were no introductions. The senior officers knew each other and the junior officers were below their notice. Tarrin didn't need an introduction to recognize General Strahzi, the Deputy Sector Commander. The other captain simply rolled his eyes at her, looking as bored as she felt. They then both averted their eyes, looking down at the floor as their seniors continued to talk.
The general never spoke to her, confining his conversation to the colonel. However, his eyes flicked to her face a couple of times, as if he recognized her from somewhere.
Finally, it was time for the banquet itself. Some of the formal barriers were allowed to drop. Not that Tarrin could even come close to speaking with the Princess. But at least she could speak with her dinner companions.
At least they could talk once the speeches were done and the food was served. It seemed as if half the planetary governors in the sector had come for this event, and of course they each had to give his or her own welcome speech.
Tarrin was seated at the far end of the banquet hall, along with the other junior officers. The Deputy Sector Commander's aide was seated diagonally opposite her. He had started the introductions before the first of the speeches. If he seemed to pay particular attention to getting Tarrin's name, she didn't notice.
None of the other officers at her table had ever been in the Imperial presence before, so naturally much of the conversation revolved around that. In the time-honored tradition of military services throughout history, some of the conversation also concerned the food. "Why don't we get something like this in the mess hall?" was the common consensus. Not even the officers' club served anything like this.
Despite the honor of the occasion, Tarrin Krilti was glad to finally be able to escape the tedium and return to the peace and solitary tranquility of her own quarters.
